


Adrenaline

by spiritualmachines



Category: Hanson (Band)
Genre: Animals, F/M, Home Invasion, Humor, One Shot, POV First Person, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-01
Updated: 2015-03-01
Packaged: 2019-06-14 06:45:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15382986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spiritualmachines/pseuds/spiritualmachines
Summary: Excerpt:The knowledge that my baby was safe and sound had calmed my nerves, but the sense of peace was fleeting.





	Adrenaline

**Author's Note:**

  * For [boomersoonerash](https://archiveofourown.org/users/boomersoonerash/gifts).



> *This story is from the alternating POV of Kate and Isaac.

**Kate**

The whole family had been cursed since the possum infiltration at Taylor and Natalie’s house several years ago. It seemed as though Taylor’s inability to actually rid their home of the trespassing beast had given free reign to the animals of Tulsa. I imagined that somewhere in the woods, there was a sign tacked to a tree displaying rudimentary photos of all of their homes as well as an open invitation to barge right in and do as they pleased.

And it had only gotten worse over time. Throughout the last year alone, Jessica and Joe had encountered a family of rats in their cabinets, Walker and Diana had dealt with a bird in the attic that had screeched and flapped around at all hours of the night, and Taylor and Natalie had found another possum not only in their humble abode, but _in their bed_. 

Thus far, Isaac and Nikki had escaped the onslaught, but I believed that was due to the fact that Isaac was the only one in the family to man up and actually _fix_ the problems instead of adding to them. He was like a regular Jack Hanna as he got rid of the rats, freed the bird and captured the possum, whereas Taylor and Joe had freaked out and flailed on a level that rivaled the animals themselves. (Walker received a free pass, as he was out of town for the weekend when the bird incident had occurred.)

Arrogance and sheer self-preservation allowed me to believe that Zac and I were also exempt from starring in the “animals gone wild” series, thanks to the location of our home and my meticulous attention to detail. However, the moment the winged beast dive-bombed my head, all my confidence flew out the window, replaced by chilling fear. 

“Abe!”

Trying to keep my screaming to a minimum, I darted around furniture and through the house to the bedroom Zac and I shared with our youngest son. Thankfully, he was fast asleep, clutching his favorite stuffed animal to his chest while remaining completely oblivious to the mayhem unfolding all around him. 

Turning on all the lights, I scanned the room to make sure that the bat hadn’t followed me in before making my exit, shutting the bedroom door tightly to protect the child from the unwanted intruder. 

The knowledge that my baby was safe and sound had calmed my nerves, but the sense of peace was fleeting. I wasn’t foolish enough to think that the bat had fled the scene during my short trip to the bedroom, and as a result, I was on high alert. 

Since Zac was at work and Shepherd and Junia were spending the night at a friend’s house, it had been a relatively quiet evening for me and Abe, but as I had learned over the years, quiet meant trouble. And trouble reared its ugly head once again as the bat darted across my line of vision, heading straight for my mother’s cross, which hung on a silver chain around my neck. 

Grabbing the necklace in my fist to keep it out of harm’s way, I got on all fours and crawled to the couch where I had left my phone, all the while mumbling curses at both Taylor and Natalie for bringing this hell upon our family.

Zac had left his cell phone at home again (surprise, surprise), so I had no choice but to call the studio. As I dialed the familiar number, I half-hoped that Taylor would be the one to answer so that I could give him a piece of my mind. But alas, neither Zac nor Taylor picked up.

“Hello?”

“Ike? It’s Kate. Can you please tell Zac to come home right now? It’s… kind of an emergency,” I stammered, keeping my fearful eyes on the mammal which had taken an apparent liking to my brand-new curtains, its webbed wings beating relentlessly against the expensive fabric. 

“An emergency? What kind of emergency? Are you okay? Is the baby okay?” he asked, his voice crackling with concern.

On any other day, I might have chuckled at the fact that Isaac seemed more worried about my well-being than my own husband, but in that moment, I wouldn’t have been able to find humor in the situation even if my life depended on it. 

“We’re fine, but there’s a bat in the house, and if it tries to attack me again, _I_ might have a heart attack. I need Zac to come home and catch this thing,” I demanded.

“Yeah, well, I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you. He and Taylor are in the middle of something. But hold tight, okay? I’ll be there soon.”

*** * * * ***

**Isaac**

I couldn’t handle another second of their bickering. It was driving me up the fucking wall.

Taylor and Zac had been getting into heated debates about lyrics ever since we were old enough to write them, but tonight’s argument was even more mind-numbing than usual. And after trying to smooth things over time and again, only to have them both tell me in no uncertain terms to shut up, I decided that I’d finally had enough.

There were times when they valued my opinion, and then there were times when their heads were so far up not only their own asses, but each other’s that trying to get through to them was downright impossible. Tonight was one of those nights.

I highly doubted that either of them noticed when I left the room and retreated to the office to finish up a few things before leaving for the night. It wasn’t the first time I had cut out early during a songwriting session, and it surely wouldn’t be the last. There was a reason there were only two viable sleeping surfaces at the studio.

I had just shut out the lights and was preparing to leave when Kate’s phone call came through.

I probably should have interrupted my brothers’ seemingly neverending dialogue and forced Zac to go home and take care of things. Yes, that probably would have been the smart thing to do. But I never claimed to be the sharpest tool in the shed. If I was, I never would have let Kate slip through my fingers in the first place… wait, did I say that out loud?

No? Whew. 

So, instead of following logic, I followed my instinct and drove all the way out to the house that my little brother had built with the woman who had been mine first. 

From the driveway, I could plainly see that every light in the house was on. For a moment, I watched misshapen shadows dance in front of the curtains while I tried to imagine exactly what was going on inside. It was probably cruel of me to not go to her rescue immediately, but it had been a long time since I’d been alone with Kate; and while this visit wasn’t meant to be anything other than strictly helpful, I was still plagued by the lingering regrets of my past. 

My phone lighting up with a new text message caught my attention and made me chuckle.

_I saw your headlights. If you don’t come inside I will tell this bat where you live, so help me God, Isaac Hanson._

The thought of Kate actually trying to give the bat directions to my house was incentive for me to move. Not because I was afraid a bat would actually listen to her, but because I was terrified of what she might do to me if _I_ didn’t listen. 

She must have been waiting right by the door because the moment I knocked, it swung open and I was greeted with the most priceless image ever. Kate was not only holding an umbrella over her head, but she had placed a pillowcase over her face for added protection. 

The only thing louder than my rumbling laughter was the sound my body made when she yanked me into the house and I tripped over my own feet, slamming into the wall with little to no grace. 

“This is _not_ funny,” she declared, lowering the umbrella before hitting me with it.

“Oh, but it is. It _is_. You may not see that now, but you will.”

“I hope you get rabies,” she hissed, though I doubted she truly meant it. 

However, I didn’t have time to call her out on her lie because the bat chose that very instant to remind both of us why I was there in the first place. Just as I stood up, it decided I was a new target and it swooped down, nearly getting caught in my hair.

I shrieked like a little girl and threw myself at Kate, ducking under the umbrella and wishing there was room in the pillowcase to join her.

“Isaac!” she cried out, elbowing me none too gently in the side. 

“Sorry! I wasn’t expecting it to attack!”

“What did you expect it to do? Invite you to tea? It’s a _bat_.”

“I don’t know! I’m not a zookeeper. You can’t tell me that Zac wouldn’t have done the same thing,” I huffed. 

When I saw the bat had once again affixed itself to the curtains, I started to formulate a plan. Of course, it was one that was very likely going to get me murdered, but it was a plan nonetheless.

“I need a broom,” I told her as I kept my eyes on it. “And the pillowcase from your head.”

With a huff of her own, Kate disappeared to get me the broom I had requested and she thrust it into my waiting hand along with the pillowcase. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that she was still using the umbrella as protection, her hair sticking up in every direction thanks to static electricity. She looked beautiful.

“Stand back,” I warned, placing a hand on her stomach to gently move her out of the way. 

Moving closer, I lined myself up, suddenly wishing I had more athletic skills. My aim wasn’t the best, but everything would be okay as long as I landed in the general area, right? Right?

“Just do it,” Kate urged, evidently possessing more confidence in my skills than I did. 

Part of me wanted to persuade her to fetch the baby and come home with me, leaving the bat for Zac to find when he got home, but the part of me that wanted to be a hero in her eyes swung the broom with reckless abandon.

I couldn’t tell if I was screaming or she was, but somehow I managed to block out the noise and knock the small winged creature to the floor. I had no intention of actually killing it, so I waited until it seemed stunned before covering it with the pillowcase and picking it up.

“Oh, gross. It’s so gross. I can feel it twitching. Open the door!” I begged as I stood up and ran toward the front door. 

Kate heeded my request and I scrambled outside, screaming like a maniac as I took off toward the wooded area to the north of their home. The farther I ran, the more frantic the bat became as it tried to break free from its confines. As soon as I was a safe distance away, I threw the pillowcase to the ground, turning on my heel and running back for the house. 

Kate was standing in the entryway upon my return, and as soon as I crossed the threshold she slammed the door behind me and let out a yell of victory. 

“You did it!”

The adrenaline I had felt from capturing the bat was quickly replaced with the thrill that stemmed from the feeling of her throwing her body at me in relief. As she crashed into me, I wrapped my arms around her tightly and reveled in the feeling of having her in my arms once again. 

Once the moment passed, I was just going to be her quirky (albeit handsome) brother-in-law, but that didn't stop me from soaking up the moment and committing it to memory. I was her hero, her knight, her protector. And even though Kate wasn’t my queen, I felt like I was on top of the world. 

“Ike?” She tilted her head to gaze up at me, a smile on her lips.

“Yeah?”

“You were right. That _was_ funny. In fact, it was pretty damn hilarious,” she said, her grin giving way to full-on laughter.

It wasn’t long before I joined in, unable to help myself. And when her lips pressed against my cheek in a show of unmasked gratitude, I silently thanked the bat and my brothers for being self-absorbed pricks. 

After all, they had made this moment possible.


End file.
